Where is the angst these days? Are we all just fat and happy enough that the ills of society are nothing more than minor inconveniences and somebody else can worry about them? I think one of the best indicators of this apathy is the lack of anything resembling social action in U.S. pop culture. Pop culture icons of every generation have mocked, parodied, and downright condemned society for actual and/or perceived wrongs.
When I was a teenager (yes I'm going down that road- and no I'm not wagging my finger and wielding a cane) the sounds of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Rage Against the Machine filled the air waves. Kurt Cobain blew his head off after coming to the conclusion that depression, drug addiction, and his fear of "selling out" were just too much for him to handle - but prior to that he mocked a vacuous society with his lyrics and stage behavior. His suicide has been interpreted by many as a protest against everything Cobain viewed as wrong in America. However, it was likely nothing more than a drug and depression induced suicide. But does the reality matter if the fiction is more powerful?
I'm not suggesting someone like Britney Spears should eat a gun (OK maybe I am, but for entirely different reasons) - but where is the moral outrage among our pop culture icons today? Pearl Jam took on Ticket Master - ostensibly for charging more than the band thought their concerts were worth. RaTM warned us to "Know Your Enemy", handed out action guides at concerts, included reading lists in their liner notes, and performed a litany of benefit concerts aligned with major radical movements in Central and South America. N.W.A. told us to "Fuck tha Police" and later Easy E. personally battled AIDs though he ultimately lost. These were all top selling bands with numerous hits on the Billboard Charts and frequent airtime on MTV - not obscure indy rockers performing at any dive that would book them. Not all of them were role models, but they knew something was wrong with the world we lived in and spoke out about it.
Do we have anything that comes close to resembling that level of social action and commitment today? Cobain is long since dead, Pearl Jam continues to record and tour but are they reaching a new audience? I don't think so as at their concerts I see few people younger than me. RaTM broke up several years ago and former members have joined with previous Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell to create the whiny alt rock mega group Audioslave that carries no discernible social action message. The only MAJOR bands I can think of that might come close are System of a Down who carries a Global Action link on their website - but they are almost un-listenable. And U2, who has carried the banner for moderate social action for over 2 decades.
But is radical action dead? Should pop icons even be looked to for social action?
Perhaps Herbert Marcuse gives us some insight into this dilemma. On page one of One-Dimensional Man he asserts,
Independence of thought, autonomy, and the right to political opposition are being deprived of their basic critical function in a society which seems increasingly capable of satisfying the needs of the individuals through the way in which it is organized.Is that what has happened? Or has that always been the case? Unfortunately, the latter is likely true. The truth is that Rock & Roll lost its claim to being subversive or radical when it became highly profitable - approximately 50 years ago. So what does that mean about my idealistic notions regarding Nirvana, PJ, and RaTM?
I'm not exactly sure, but I think it means that very few things, if any, can be truly subversive in a capitalistic society. If something is actually subversive it starts on the fringes and one of two things happens: 1) it stays on the fringe because it is not profitable until it fades out completely or 2) it gains enough popularity that the capitalist machine co-opts it so that subversion becomes profitable - making it no longer subversive.
Where does that leave us? I wish I knew but I'm afraid we are moving away from any real radical changes in American/Western society and instead we face a movement toward "ethical" consumerism. This direction is not satisfactory in my estimation.
More to come later ...
5 comments:
Brother, we are here. We are engaged in a most radical campaign:
http://www.purduehungerstrike.org
You know that we are fighting honestly--attempting a mass conversion of people... so I ask,
Do not use your blog to make us any more invisible. Instead, use your blog to broadcast our work, our love.
Brother, we are here... full of an angst both transformed and transforming.
Cornel West said to me, once: "I am not an optimist, but I am a slave to hope."
The existential crisis discovers its hope only in an opening toward others... so here we are in our love. And in angst.
Resist the "individualism" of the blogosphere and strive for the "individuality" of human contact.
The problem is that popular icons from the past achieved their fame from talent, rather than strictly looks and the malleability for whichever industry pays them to control them, the ones with talent sell out for that beloved bling, and most people just don't care.
Due to the fusion of TV and music, appearance is now more important than the music itself, because the lack of talent can be covered up in the studio, and extravagant shows make up for it live. This is what MTV watchers want to see: Hot bodies and skimpy wardrobe. Not listen to music (if that's not obvious from Fallout Boy's videos), or the screen would be a hallucinogen image that changes shapes constantly.
Spears' fame is based on A) Looking whorish enough for skankbait/skank-seekers, like myself, to want to scrog; B) Scrogging miscellaneous people; and, C) Showing off her FUPLA with pantie-less photo-ops. Everyone knows that she's talentless, including herself. If Spears actually stated anything, who would listen? We would all say, "Yeah, that's nice. Now, shut the fuck up and dance while shaking that ass." Furthermore, what could that vacuous cranium have to state anyway?
Forget Spears; she's a mongoloid. Look at Tiger, he won't say anything about any issue at all, much less take a stand. Why? For the same reason Jordan wouldn't: "Republicans buy shoes, too." Just substitute Republicans for Offended party X. The pop icon is as much of a product as the shit they're selling.
An aside: U2 fucking blows. Yes, their older stuff was good, but so was Metallica's. Seriously, who calls themselves "Bono" and "The Edge"? They are just as shitty as Blue October, and that's the scourge of the earth right there. Listen to all of "A Beautiful Day", and if you don't vomit, I'll give you a dollar.
One of my favorite writers, Tucker Max, claims that the Western World hasn't gone through anything so extreme in the last 30 years that there's a lot to be riled up about; he explains this to argue that the ramblings of the talentless Dane Cook are somehow comedic gold. Obviously, both of these arguments Max made are far from reality. However, it appears that Americans, specifically, would try to entertain themselves with hacks like Cook, play videogames, or masturbate to Spears' FUPLA on MTV than actually do something meaningful, even if that's just going to a simple protest.
Sol, in my continuation of this post I was going to address my thoughts on the hunger strike here at Purdue. My intent was not to make the social action of those I know invisible - my post just became a meandering thought with no conclusion in sight so I felt compelled to stop before it became completely incoherent.
Additionally, I am well aware that the face-to-face interaction is far more preferred than the "faceless" interaction of the blogosphere. But I am new to this and for the time being at least, it seems a good venue for the exchange of ideas.
Keep up the good fight my friend.
Just wanted to throw in my two bits... I agree with you that angst and activism seem less prominent on our social landscape than I remember them being "before"...
That being said, I don't think pop-icon activism is dead. Check out Smile Empty Soul's music video "This is War," ending the chilling visual collage of war images with the challenge: 'How can you sit back and do nothing?' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-Dd0VN9zm4)
Also, the Pop/Soul/Rock star Pink penned a direct challenge to our commander in thief entitled "Dear Mr. President" with such lyrics as 'how do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye,' 'what kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away,' and 'you've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine.' Daughter of a Vietnam veteran, Pink collaborates with the Indigo Girls, uniting two generations of activism. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eDJ3cuXKV4)
I'm attempting to remind myself and anyone reading that the angst still lives. We just have to keep finding it and turning up the volume. Thanks for posting this, David. ~tommi
Tommi, thanks for reading and commenting. I've never heard of Smile Empty Souls but the images in their video were powerful and haunting. I also never suspected Pink of being capable of writing such a politically charged song - shows what I know. It appears as though my pre-conceived notions about certain artists should be re-examined.. Thank you for helping me to realize some pop stars still "get it."
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